1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishhooks having improved barb and hook tip constructions and a novel method of making the same.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Conventional fishhooks A' have a sharp barb 2' cut and raised from the inner side of a tip portion 11' of a fishhook body 1' as shown in FIG. 24 or, alternatively, have a bulged barb 2" formed at the inner side of a fishhook body 1" as shown in FIG. 25.
The former type of fishhooks effectively prevents a fish bait attached thereon from being dislodged therefrom. However, when a fish is caught on the fishhook, the sharp tip 4' of the barb 2' cuts into the flesh of the fish and, in an attempt to remove the fish from the fishhook, the sharp tip of the barb will tear off the flesh of the fish and aggravate the damage to the fish. Especially if a caught fish is to be released, it is necessary to pay special attention to minimize the damage to the fish when removing the fish from the fishhook A'. Though such an operation may be relatively easy for experienced fishermen, inexperienced fishermen may heavily damage a caught fish even if they pay the most careful attention,
As described above, the barb 2' shown in FIG. 24 which is formed by cutting and raising part of the tip portion of the fishhook has a sharp groove 13' formed at the base portion 5' thereof, and sometimes fine cracks are observed at the bottom of the groove 13'. This will lead to the breakage of the barb 2' due to an excessive load imposed on the base portion 5' of the barb 2' when a caught fish is removed from the fishhook A' or when a fish caught on the fishhook is struggling.
Furthermore, the cut and raised barb 2' has a small juncture area at the base portion 5' on the fishhook body 1', i.e., between the barb 2' and the fishhook body 1', and therefore the barb 2' may be easily broken due to an intensive stress occurring at the sharp groove 13' when a large load is applied on the base portion 5' of the barb 2' by a large fish caught on the fishhook.
The latter type of fishhook has been proposed to solve the problem associated with the former type. Unlike the fishhook A' shown in FIG. 24, the fishhook A" having a bulged barb 2" minimizes a damage to a fish, and the bulged barb 2" may be hardly broken. However, it is very difficult to manufacture the fishhook A" with the bulged barb 2". It is also difficult to attach a bait to the fishhook because the bulged barb obstructs the passage of the bait.
Each of the fishhooks A' and A" of the conventional types has a circular cross section which gradually increases from the tip portion toward the shank portion thereof. When a fish biting a bait is caught on the fishhook A' or A", the tip portion 11' or 11" of the fishhook A' or A" hooks the mouth of the fish and then squeezes into the palate of the fish while forcibly enlarging the wounded palate and flesh of the fish.
However, the tip portion 11' or 11" of the conventional fishhook A' or A" having such a circular cross section causes a significantly large resistance to squeeze into the hard palate of the fish and to forcibly enlarge the wounded palate and flesh of the fish. Therefore, it is very difficult for a fisherman to hook a fish on a blunt tip 12' or 12" of the fishhook A' or A" because the blunt tip can hardly squeeze into the hard palate of the fish.
In view of the aforementioned problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a fishhook which has a tip portion with a reduced squeezing resistance for easy hooking of fish, said tip portion having flat or concave cut faces formed by cutting both lateral portions on either or both of upper and lower sides of the tip portion and sharp edges formed along ridges at junctures of the cut faces.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide fishhook which has a barb of a great strength designed to minimize a damage to a fish when removing the fish.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method which allows mass production of fishhooks having the aforesaid features.